


empty spaces

by apeachiation



Category: 2AM (Band), 2PM (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Space, Gen, Hot blood au, but in space!!!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-08-28
Updated: 2010-08-28
Packaged: 2019-10-05 14:04:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,525
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17326391
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/apeachiation/pseuds/apeachiation
Summary: Thirteen men with a common dream - to become generals of the fleet, and to be able to fly their own spaceship.—Space AU of the Hot Blood tv show 2AM and 2PM competed in pre-debut. Posted originally on livejournal.





	empty spaces

The sky is dark all around them, and all of the stars seem further away than they really are. Taekyeon has been assigned the night shift, and he wouldn’t mind it so much if it wasn’t for all of the noise the other guys were making in the back of the ship.

The spaceship is on autopilot, but the constant asteroids and garbage floating around in space makes it necessary for someone to be on guard at all times. Taekyeon sighs and leans further back in the chair, propping his feet up on the control panel. A small lamp flashes red a few times before it shuts itself off.

“You sleeping?” a voice says behind Taekyeon, and he doesn’t have to turn around to know who it is. They have been trained to recognize each other on just how they walk, breathe, so identifying is not a problem.

“Not yet,” Taekyeon says and turns his head to watch Seulong settle in the chair next to him, a large bag of food in his hands. He eyes the bag for a moment and Seulong laughs when Taekyeon’s stomach gives out a dull growl, handing the bag over to the other man.

“Why are you here?” Taekyeon mumbles with his mouth full of artificial rice, too used to the watery taste to notice. “Couldn’t sleep?”

“With the party going on?” Seulong snorts and pretends he doesn’t want to join the others. “The general will not be pleased when he sees us tomorrow.”

They fall silent, Seulong staring out at the stars, Taekyeon quickly eating all the food in the bag. Tomorrow afternoon they will dock to Battlestar JYP for the first time in three months, and maybe, maybe, one of them would be promoted.

They fall asleep to the soft beeping of the control systems and the loud voices in the back of the ship.  
  


When Jinwoon wakes up, his mouth is dry and it tastes like yesterday’s dinner. He frowns into his tingling arm, before sitting up. The floor is hard beneath him, and his teammates are spread out all around him.

Jinwoon slowly stands up, walking carefully over the still sleeping people, ignoring the almost painful sparks in his arm as it wakes up. Someone in the corner mumbles something in their sleep, but it’s too difficult to see who and Jinwoon just smiles and walks outside.

The hallway is dark and empty, and Jinwoon walks quickly to the locker room, knowing that if the others wake up, he will have to wait for the shower.  
  


When he has finished cleaning up, Jinwoon pulls on fresh clothes from his locker just as the door to the hallway opens, and a barely awake Wooyoung walks inside, his eyes still closed. Jinwoon thinks it’s a shame they’ve all gotten used to their own sleep schedules during this three-month trip. It will be hard to wake up before dawn tomorrow, when they will be forced back into a ‘normal’ routine.

Wooyoung doesn’t say anything as he undresses and walks to the shower. Jinwoon just shrugs and tries to find any food that might have been spared from Chansung’s empty stomach.  
  


In the galley Daehun is already plucking out the few leftover containers with artificial rice and synthesized meat, his hair sticking out in all angles. Jinwoon thinks that he’s probably the most happy that they’re getting back to the base in a few hours – taking care of twelve other people in a small space most grate on his nerves.

“Good morning,” Daehun smiles when Jinwoon walks to stand next to him, both of them reaching for almost clean bowls and spoons to dig the food out of the cartons with.

“Morning hyung,” Jinwoon says and hides his huge amount of meat underneath some rice. Daehun huffs jokingly.

“It’s Corporal Daehun, Jinwoon-ah.”

“Temporary Corporal Im Daehun,” Jinwoon grins and walks towards the table just as Chansung enters the galley, no doubt awakened by the smell of food. “As soon as we dock to the Battlestar, you’re back to being an aircraftman just like the rest of us.”  
  


Inside the Battlestar, it’s hot and bright from the light shining overhead, and even though the crowd inside the huge ship is louder than the small crew of the vessel they’d been using for the last few months, Wooyoung felt like he was home once again.

He knows they’ll have to meet the general after they had unloaded the small ship’s cargo, and Wooyoung knows that all thirteen members of his current team will unload the cargo as slowly as possible – none of them wants to meet general Park Jinyoung again.  
  


The large crates full of food and water and whatnot are heavy, and Wooyoung can feel the sweat making his shirt cling to his back. All of his team members are in a similar state of exhaustion, and the constant eyes of higher ranked soldiers are not making it easier for them.

None of them tries to start a conversation, because they know talking will attract even more attention, and with that the higher risk of punishment. Wooyoung just grinds his teeth tighter before picking up another crate, working steadily beside Nichkhun, the foreigner that barely speaks Korean.  
  


“Hey, don’t worry,” Seuchi says, and he’s all watery smiles and secure handshakes. “I’m just being moved to another base, China isn’t that far away.”

The others know this, but all of them thought they’d be part of the same team until they were all old and grey, until none of them would be able to fly a ship anymore.

Seuchi’s bed and locker have been cleaned out and all of his personal belongings have been packed up, and he’s standing by the door, the heavy bag hanging off of his shoulder. His teammates – his  _ former _ teammates are standing or sitting awkwardly on their beds or on the floor, none of them willing to meet his eyes.

The inevitable sharp knock on the door echoes dully through the room, and Seuchi tries not to flinch. He smiles again. “I’ll see you guys soon,” he says, and then he’s out of the door. They know they’ll never meet again.  
  


Jinwoon is the next person to be sent away for more basic training – he’s too young, claims some of the higher-ups – and he stops smiling. He’s tall, he’s mature, but he’s the youngest of them, he’s still a child. Jinwoon only smiles. Jinwoon is too innocent.

Jinwoon graduated from the academy with the best score.

Jinwoon smiles and bids his farewells and when he’s alone he grits his teeth, promising himself to be better.  
  


When their numbers are quickly decreasing, and they’re reduced to eleven people, they work even harder than before to prove themselves, to be someone. No task is too difficult; no ship is too difficult to steer around impossible tracks.

They sweat and bleed every day, and they get more and more exhausted for every week that passes, but none of them complain. They can’t afford to be seen as week at this point –they’ll be seen as a threat to the morale and will be eliminated from the training sooner than anyone can expect it.

When first Jo Kwon is promoted to corporal, and then Daehun, Jaebum, Taekyeon, they know their hard work is starting to pay off, and so they can’t stop, they won’t stop. They want to be the best team ever existed in this galaxy, and for a few moments they can almost taste the victory.  
  


“Hey,” Doojoon – now a sergeant - says the next time he sees the rest of them gathered around a table, eating tasteless food. They’ve all been promoted to different ranks, but they still meet up every now and then, just to talk.

Doojoon remains standing, and he ignores Junho’s invitation to sit down, opting instead to look out over the sea of soldier. “I’m being sent back to training.”  
  


Daehun decides to leave after their first real battle – his face is pale and his hands are shaking, and the sour taste in his mouth just won’t go away. The other, the  _ younger _ , team members are seemingly unaffected by the assault, by the loud noises and the screams.

“Everybody okay?” Daehun asks to the room, and they look at him with small smiles of pride and accomplishment, and he feels his heart sink. He wipes his hands on his trousers, trying to get rid of as much grease and blood as possible.

“And you, hyung?” Seulong says, his eyes fixed on the older’s face. Daehun isn’t completely sure whether or not Seulong actually means it.

“Yeah, I’m okay,” Daehun smiles and nods his head, before slowly standing up and walking out of the room. “I’ll be right back.”

The next morning general Park Jinyoung finds Daehun’s letter of resignation lying on top of his desk, written on crisp, white paper. The team never sees Daehun again.  
  


“This is Squadron Leader Lee Changmin,” General Park Jinyoung says and motions towards a muscular young man standing at attention just behind him. Changmin is staring at them with a neutral expression, one that they’ve all gotten used to seeing since they signed up for their military service. “He is going to be part of your group from now on.”

They all know he’s a replacement for Daehun, but nobody has even been added to their team since the team was formed, and maybe, just maybe, this is the way their group is supposed to look like. Changmin still makes them uncomfortable – he outranks all of them except Jaebum and Kwon, and he has no doubt more experience than the rest of them.

“I want you to show him around your quarters, and show him what kind of ships you usually work with,” Jinyoung says, and Jaebum nods. “Make him feel at home, boys.”

 

It feels weird to have another person, a stranger, around them. Changmin sleeps in Daehun’s old bed, sits in his old chair, eats out of his bowl. It feels strange and unusual, but slowly they get used to it.

Changmin is quiet and has a no-jokes attitude at first, but as time passes he starts to loosen up, and before the rest of the team can notice it, Daehun’s things has been replaced with  _ Changmin’s _ bed,  _ Changmin’s _ chair,  _ Changmin. _  
  


“Gear up,” Jaebum says as he walks inside their cramped room, easily stepping around the piles of dirty clothes and broken weapons. “We have a mission.”

“Great!” Kwon exclaims, bouncing up from his bed to start packing. Jaebum winces, and clears his throat, making the other members of Jaebum’s group stop what they’re doing to look at him.

“Look, Kwon,” he says, his voice all business even though he can’t look Kwon in the face. “You’re not coming with us.”

Kwon pauses, a stunner in one of his hands. Jaebum eyes it nervously. “But I’ve always been in your group.”

“Sorry, orders from above,” Jaebum says, and Kwon looks like he’s ready to murder someone. “I love you man, no homo, but I’m not willing to go against the general’s orders for you.”

The room grows quiet and the other members barely have the courage to speak, before Kwon sighs, and breaks eye contact with Jaebum. He sits down on his bed again, letting go of the stunner as he slumps against the wall. Jaebum nods, and tries to look less guilty.

“Junsu, you’re with us from now on,” Jaebum says as he picks up his already packed bag, and leaves the room. Junsu blinks and slowly gets up from the floor. He packs his bag as quickly as he cans while shooting apologizing looks at the three people in the room getting left behind.

Junsu is the last one to leave the room, and just as he closes the door, a pillow hits the wall next to the door.

“It’s not fair that we’re always several people short of being a full team,” Changmin mutters, looking longingly at his pillow lying on the other side of the room. Seulong just gets up from his bed to pick the pillow up from the floor, putting it next to his own ones instead of giving it back to Changmin.

“It’ll work out somehow.”  
  


When Jaebum is promoted to wing commander, Kwon can do nothing but watch from a distance. He knows he should feel happy for his friend, but this is just another moment where Kwon isn’t good enough.

When the new shining star gets attached on Jaebum’s – Wing Commander Park Jaebum’s – jacket by a proud Jinyoung, Kwon feels sick. Jaebum is looking so happy, and Junsu looks like he never belonged anywhere else than with the day shift.

Kwon leaves before Jaebum can see him.

 

“You’re supposed to turn it the other way,” voice behind Seulong says when he’s trying to open one of the panels on the front of the ship. “The older models can be a little tricky like that.”

Seulong does what the person tells him to do, and the hatch opens with a soft  _ click _ , and Seulong turns around to thank the stranger.

“Jinwoon-ah?”, he asks, his mouth gaping open as he takes in the younger’s appearance. Jinwoon nods with an awkward smile, and Seulong pulls him in to a quick hug. “You’re so tall now!”

Jinwoon smiles brightly and Seulong can’t believe he forgot how happy Jinwoon can look. Jinwoon is almost as tall as Seulong now, and he can’t wait to see the expression on Kwon’s face when they meet.

“Is this your ship?” Jinwoon asks, nodding towards the small ship with its metallic grey body and its large glass windows. Seulong nods with a proud smile.

“Yeah, her name is M/S One Day. Changmin - he’s a soldier who joined our team – paid for most of it,” Seulong says distractedly as he notices the big backpack Jinwoon’s carrying. “But why are you here? Where’s your team?”

“My team?” Jinwoon says and raises an eyebrow. He pulls off the backpack and leans it against one of the huge crates standing nearby. “Didn’t anybody tell you?”

Seulong shakes his head and Jinwoon sighs. “I’m Daehun-hyung’s replacement.”

Seulong’s face slowly relaxes into a happy smile, and he starts to walk off, taking one of Jinwoon’s wrists in his own hand, pulling him along. “Come on, I’ll introduce you to the rest of the crew.”

 

Both Changmin and Kwon are in the cockpit, pressing buttons to see if they work and installing new software to upgrade the various computers hidden in the walls. Jinwoon bows awkwardly at them when they notice Seulong and him.

“He’s Daehun’s replacement,” Seulong says with a stupid grin, and Jinwoon smiles happily when Kwon recognizes him. Changmin stops pressing buttons as he studies Jinwoon more carefully.

 

“But why?” Kwon asks as he gets up from his chair, even as a smile is spreading over his face. “We already have Changmin.”

Jinwoon scoffs, and then he frowns at the surprised looks of the other people in the room. “Oh come, did you really think they’d you let you fly a ship of this size with just three people ?”


End file.
